Bonnet me up, buttercup
by Aiwendil94
Summary: While attempting to flee Silas and escape from its horrors - and the dean - Carmilla, Laura, Perry and LaFontaine stumble upon an Amish farm, intending to stay just for the night. But will everything go according to their plans? (Set right after the Christmas special.)
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: Hi, guys! Thank you so much for giving my story a chance, it means so much to me! This was inspired by an interview with Natasha and Elise, hope you like it!_**

**_P.S.: A special thank you from the bottom of my heart to my dear friend Irene for her continuous and neverending support, and for kindly reviewing this first chapter. Ah, Satan will reward you, my dear :)_**

**_Enjoy!_**

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><p>"Are they close?" Laura asked, looking through a bush, squinting.<p>

"I'm right beside you, how am I supposed to know?" replied Carmilla, rolling her eyes.

"Well… You're a vampire, use your… super ears or something."

Carmilla looked at her with an incredulous expression. Laura could be incredibly naïve sometimes. Or maybe it was the damage pop culture had caused. Either way, her anger towards Julie Plec grew exponentially day by day.

She crouched down next to her anyway, growling. "If I tear my leather pants because of this stupid mob, I'll murder everyone, I swear to Satan."

Laura looked away from the bush, perplexed. "'I swear to Satan'?"

"Yeah. So?"

"No one says 'I swear to Satan.'"

"I do. I find him more badass than God, no big deal." Carmilla shrugged while still trying to locate the mob.

Laura opened her mouth and held up her hands. "I'm sorry, are you actually trying to tell me that some hideous creature that was sent to hell like a zillion years ago is better than an omnipotent God that gets to hang out with nice and cool people in heaven?"

Carmilla glanced at her from the corner of her eye, a half smile on her face. "The coolest people rarely make it to heaven, cupcake."

Before Laura could say anything else, Perry spoke.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this beautiful, _beautiful_ moment, but are we actually going to discuss religion with a mob chasing us? Can't we do that later, with a nice cup of hot chocolate, when we're safe?" Her voice was just a soft whisper, something no one was used to, given her usual level of anxiety.

LaFontaine appeared all of a sudden breathing heavily, their face all red. Perry rushed to make sure they were okay, with Carmilla looking at them and raising her eyebrows, expecting an explanation.

"Well?" she demanded impatiently.

"Let her breathe! You were the one who asked her to climb those rocks to look for those men!" Perry said, a little angry. LaFontaine just stood there, clinging to their friend's arm, unable to get any words out.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my fault." Carmilla stood up and dusted off her leather pants. "You're right. Make yourselves comfortable. I'd hate for the villagers to find you too anxious, makes the whole stabbing process rather awkward." She tried to walk away, but Laura quickly grabbed her hand in an attempt to calm her.

"Just… give them a few seconds, okay? This has been a pretty eventful evening for all of us," she said gently, smiling.

"Ugh. Fine," she murmured. "But you better run quickly if I tell you to." She crouched down again.

LaFontaine finally spoke. "I saw men with torches coming from the east. Not many, but we should probably get moving, they're not that far."

"Okay, then," said Carmilla, standing up again. "Let's go."

"Wait, can't we just rest for five minutes? I'm exhausted, if you haven't noticed," complained LaFontaine.

"Sure! Why not!" the vampire said, her patience coming to an end. "Or I could just turn into a cat and take you on my back, while we're at it," she said very sarcastically.

"Would you?" asked LaFontaine excitedly, apparently not catching the vampire's not-so-subtle tone.

Carmilla turned and looked at them fiercely, which made it pretty clear for the young scientist that the question was out of place.

Laura got up and walked quickly towards Carm, knowing she was pretty much the only one that could prevent her from tearing the group apart. Literally. With her teeth and claws.

Perry stayed behind with LaFontaine, helping them keep the pace, which wasn't an easy task.

The group walked silently, trying to get as far from the villagers as possible and find shelter at the same time. They stayed as close to one another as they could to avoid freezing to death – Decembers in Austria were cruel and frosty. And in addition to that, it was technically still the 25th, which made the three humans kind of depressed. They'd never imagined they'd spend Christmas day hiking through the mountains.

"I still can't believe they're going after us on Christmas!" Laura had groaned earlier.

"Yeah… I guess they don't get the BBC here and have no specials to watch," had teased Carmilla, which made Laura giggle for the first time in hours.

After thirty minutes of walking, they reached a vast clearing. The trees around it prevented the wind from rushing wildly in there, and the moonlight shone directly over the place, as if pinpointing a fairytale location. No trees or rocks could be seen there, just a large farm.

"We're safe! We're safe! Go, go, go!" shouted Perry, clapping, eager to sit down and relax for once.

"Let's ask if we can stay the night," said Laura. "Carm, you stay here with LaFontaine. I don't want you to scare them off before we can even speak."

Carmilla just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, feeling like a child who's been deprived of fun.

Laura and Perry walked quickly towards the door and knocked gently three times. When it opened, this gentle woman with a bonnet appeared in front of them.

"Can I help you, sweethearts?" she asked with a smile on her face.

The girls looked at each other, perplexed. Laura broke the ice. "We're terribly sorry to bother you this late, and we know it's Christmas, but we are… um… we were… you know…"

"Hiking," Perry helped her. "We were hiking through the mountains and got lost. I was wondering if maybe you could let us, I don't know, sleep in your barn or something? It will be just for tonight." She tried to sound as nice as possible. Laura just stared at the woman with her cutest face. This was a talent she had mastered lately with Carmilla.

"Oh, don't be silly, of course not!" the woman exclaimed. The girls started to worry they'd just lost their chance of survival, but the woman just smiled more widely. "You're not going to sleep in the barn, you'll freeze! I'll get some beds ready for you."

"Thank you so much, ma'am! You're an angel," Laura squealed.

"Call me Annie," she said. She took a look outside and saw Carmilla and LaFontaine standing there. "And tell your friends to come inside. The more, the merrier, especially on Christmas, right? Watch the step, darlings."

Laura went to fetch her friends while Perry showed herself inside. The part of the farm that made up the house was built of red brick. The walls were tall, without any paint on them, and the wooden floor seemed out of place in comparison. The furniture was made of wood too, and there was not a single electronic device as far as she could see, not even a fridge. The stairs that led to the second floor were creaky and slightly rotted from many years of stepping on them. A big fireplace illuminated the main room, where an old man and a twenty-something-year-old boy were sitting on two couches, snoring loudly.

By the time the four girls were inside, Annie was already back and placing plates of stew on the table.

"Make yourselves at home," she said. "You poor things. It must be freezing outside."

They sat down silently, confused and tired at the same time. Everything seemed a little odd.

"I'll get your beds ready while you fill your stomachs. And don't worry about my husband and son, they won't bother you. They've been sleeping for a while now, too much alcohol."

She laughed and walked towards the stairs, but before she could reach them, Laura spoke. "Thank you again for your hospitality, ma'am. But can I ask why you have your farm in such a remote place? Isn't it a little bit… inconvenient and… lonely?"

Annie paused and said, "Well, because this is an Amish farm, of course."

"You've got to be kidding me," let out Carmilla instantly.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm sorry, is there a problem?" Annie asked, concerned.

"No, no, no-no-no-no-no!" Laura said quickly while gesturing with her hands, before Carmilla could say something inappropriate. "It's just that… um… she's… um…" She looked at Carmilla's dish, trying to improvise. "She's a… vegetarian! That's it! She's a vegetarian. An animal-loving, strict vegetarian."

Carmilla opened her eyes widely and turned to look at Laura, gritting her teeth. The latter was convinced if looks could kill, there would be like a thousand knives coming out of Carmilla's eyes and digging into her brain. Or maybe flames. Huge, scary flames from the pits of hell, burning her to ashes. Either way, she looked terrifying when she was angry. She couldn't help but shrug – a futile attempt to make Carmilla understand that she'd had no choice. The vampire rolled her eyes and hissed lowly, holding tightly on to her fork so as not to feel the need to feed on her crush – a rather challenging romantic choice, she thought to herself.

Annie laughed lightly and walked towards the table to pick up the dish in front of Carmilla, who was looking down at it, as if saying her last goodbyes.

"You could've said so, sweetheart!" Annie said charmingly. "That's an admirable decision, if I may say so." She took the dish to the kitchen with Carmilla unable to take her eyes off of it and LaFontaine trying their hardest not to burst out laughing. Perry threw a reprehensive look at Laura. She didn't think it wise to upset a centuries-old vampire who could disembowel people in the blink of an eye, although deep down she also found the situation quite amusing.

"If I go on a killing spree tonight it'll be your fault," Carmilla whispered to Laura.

"Oh, don't be overdramatic, you prefer blood to meat anyway," she whispered back.

"And where do you suggest I get some?" Carmilla inquired.

Annie approached the table again, this time with a bowl in her hands.

"Here you are, child," she said, putting it down. It was full of what looked like mashed potato. "There's plenty more where that came from, so fill up your stomach!" She placed both hands on Carmilla's shoulders. The tension and self-control in the vampire's face could be perfectly noticed. Her cheeks were growing hotter and hotter by the minute. "You're really skinny! Eat up."

"I will," Carmilla muttered, as calm as she could. Annie just stood there, waiting for her to dip the spoon into the bowl.

Laura looked at her friends subtly, urging them to do or say something quickly before Carmilla lost her patience.

"I… I thought there were no Amish in Europe," LaFontaine said all of sudden.

Annie looked at them. "Oh! And there aren't," she said. "It's a long story, I'm sure you don't want to hear it."

"Actually, it sounds interesting," LaFontaine said. Perry nodded vehemently in agreement.

"Well, then." Annie clapped, finally releasing Carmilla. She sat down next to the now-more-relaxed vampire and cleared her throat. "I was actually born in Pennsylvania, in an Amish community, many years ago. I lived a happy life there – I would sew with my mother and sister, and cook for the family, and read the Bible…"

At that, Carmilla snorted, which Laura tried to cover with a cough.

"After my Rumspringa, I was baptized and…"

"Rumspringa?" asked Laura.

"It's the time when the Amish can experience the outside world and decide whether they want to stay in their community or leave forever," noted Perry. Her floor don persona forced her to answer any question posed within ten feet of herself, even if she tried not to.

"Your friend's absolutely right," replied Annie, grinning. Perry just smiled and looked down, blushing slightly.

"Well, as I was saying, I decided to stay and I was baptized. From then on I was officially a member of the community, and the time was coming for me to find a husband, but for some reason I didn't seem to make up my mind."

"Too many men to choose from, huh?" LaFontaine said with a half-smile.

Annie shook her head. "Not really, it doesn't quite work like that. We women are supposed to marry strong, capable men – men we can trust, men who can give us children. There can be a certain degree of affection, but not love or passion as the outsiders understand them. At least not in most cases. And I'd had a couple men propose to me, but something felt off to me and I couldn't do it."

She paused. The only noises that could be heard in the room were the fire crackling and Carmilla's spoon when it was dipped into the bowl. She had a disgusting look on her face but was managing to eat the whole thing.

Annie sighed and continued. "My little sister wasn't much younger than me, so her Rumspringa started not long after I ended mine. However, unlike me, she decided not to come back. She'd made friends and fallen in love with the outside world, with its people, its music, its culture…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on," interrupted Laura, startled. "She chose her new _friends_ over her _family_?! Knowing she could _never_ go back?!"

"Yes," Annie said, a hint of sadness in her voice. "She'd gotten used to a new lifestyle and wasn't willing to give it up. Of course, she hadn't been baptized yet, so she couldn't be shunned – she could still visit, and she did, from time to time. And it was during one of those visits that I met David." She gazed at her sleeping husband. The girls couldn't actually tell if her eyes were glowing because of the light or if that was actual, visible love.

After a few seconds of complete and utter silence, she resumed her story. "Anyway. He used to give her a lift in his car. Sparks flew right away. I couldn't understand it, but there was this tickling sensation in my stomach every time he came near me. As if hundreds of little butterflies were living inside it and tried to fly away in his presence. And his bringing me gifts and flowers didn't really help. So… um… I talked to my sister, she somehow convinced me listening to my heart and experiencing actual love was the right thing and here I am. And because of my rushed decision I was shunned from the community. My sister supported me throughout the whole process, and offered me to come live here with her. It was way too painful to live so close to my family but so far at the same time. So she lives down in the village and I live up here, still upholding my old traditions. Poor David had to adjust to that." She smiled, but her eyes denoted sadness, perhaps even slight guilt.

Annie stared down at the table, silent. The group started looking at one another, unsure about what to do or say. By then Carmilla had finished the bowl, and she was playing with the spoon as if it were a knife, her wide-open hand placed on the table. And for the next few seconds, that was the only sound that filled the room, apart from the fireplace.

When the silence became unbearable, Laura let out a slightly overacted yawn, stretching out her arms at the same time. Annie came out of her state and quickly got up.

"Oh, I'm so, so, so sorry. You must be exhausted, and here I am, babbling and babbling. I'll go get your beds ready, don't worry." And without another word, she went upstairs.

"Okay, you're thinking what I'm thinking, right?" Carmilla said, still playing with the spoon.

"Yes. She's a lovely lady. Tragic story," said Perry, bringing her hand to her chest.

"No! This is a nightmare! We _have_ to get out of here," the vampire replied, looking at Laura and LaFontaine for help.

"Perry has a point," Laura said, wrinkling her nose cutely. "I mean, she gave us food, she's prepping beds for us…"

"Yeah, she's cool," pointed out LaFontaine. "And those dumbasses from the village wouldn't even think to look for us here."

Perry nodded enthusiastically, and Carmilla just groaned and threw herself on the table, thinking about the penances she would have to endure for Satan knew how long. Her vampire instinct told her this wasn't going to be just a one-night thing. Laura tried to cheer her up by stroking her back affectionately.

About three minutes later Annie came back, gesturing for them to come upstairs. The four of them got up and followed her, but Laura suddenly stopped before reaching the steps.

"I'm sorry, may I go to the bathroom, please?" she asked.

"Sure, sweetie," Annie replied. "It's that door on your left," she said while pointing with her finger. Laura smiled and stayed behind while the others went to the bedrooms.

The second floor looked quite similar to the other one. The brick walls stood out against the five wooden doors and the floorboards. Behind a corner, they could see more wooden stairs.

"Okay, so you'll have to split, those are your two bedrooms – you can use that one there or that one there. And there's the bathroom, and that's our bedroom, and that's our son's," she said, pointing at every door. She actually seemed excited to have people over. "And those stairs lead to the attic, but it's really cold there, I wouldn't recommend it."

At that moment Laura came, and Carmilla quickly grabbed her by her arm and led her to the closest bedroom, muttering a "Good night" on her way. Perry excused herself as well and went to the other bedroom with LaFontaine, Annie just waving at the four of them with a big smile on her face.

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"Um… Okay… Erm…" Laura said when they entered the bedroom. The decoration was poor, just a cupboard, a desk and a chair behind it. But in the middle of the room, the giant double bed certainly stood out.

Carmilla stared at it with a fake wicked smile and looked at Laura, who had a puzzled expression. At the sight of that, Carmilla just laughed.

"I'll sleep on the floor," she said.

"No! I won't let you," Laura replied firmly.

"Vampire constitution, remember?"

"The answer's still no. It's cold, the floor's too hard and we have to pretend to be ordinary humans. No sleeping on the floor." Laura waved her index finger, as if telling Carmilla off.

The latter laughed again. "Fine by me, cupcake."

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Laura woke up in the middle of the night, sweating. She was getting tired of nightmares. This time, she dreamed the diner lady was coming for her with a giant army of gingerbread cookies.

She turned over to reassure herself Carmilla was there with her. She felt much safer with a vampire by her side protecting her. But Carmilla was nowhere to be found. Laura stretched out her hand. Her side of the bed was still warm, which meant she hadn't been gone for too long. She wasn't on the floor either, so Laura picked up her backpack, grabbed a flashlight and went out.

She searched for her in the bathroom, without any luck. She wasn't in the kitchen or the main room or even the barn, and Laura was freezing to death. She decided to go back to their bedroom and wait for her there when the wooden stairs on the second floor caught her eye. She then found herself in the attic, which was full of hay and various tools. Carmilla wasn't there either, but there was a trapdoor in the corner that was slightly open. Laura went through it. She was now on the roof, and she could see Carmilla sitting there, just looking at the sky, thoughtful.

"Aren't you cold out here?" Laura asked, slightly shaking.

"I'm okay," she replied without looking at her. "What are you doing up here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Laura approached her and sat down next to her. "I was looking for you."

"What for?"

"Nothing. I just woke up and didn't see you there. I had a nightmare."

Carmilla suddenly turned to her, startled. "What was it about? My mother? Ell?"

Laura shook her head, smiling. "No, don't worry. It was just the gingerbread lady." Carmilla let out a sigh. "Speaking of which, I have something for you." She started digging through her backpack and took out a paper package, which she handed to Carmilla. The vampire looked perplexed. "Open it."

Carmilla unwrapped the paper to find several chocolate cookies. She looked at Laura, confused.

"I figured you'd be hungry," Laura said. "And I know you love cookies – you ate a _huge_ amount of mine back at Silas."

Carmilla laughed and looked down. "But where did you get these?"

"Oh! I found them in the kitchen when I said I was going to the bathroom," she replied proudly.

"You _stole_ these?!" Carmilla asked.

"Well… I… um… I just took a handful. There were a lot, I don't think she'll notice." Laura smiled at Carmilla, who was raising her eyebrows. "Besides, it was my fault that you didn't get to eat properly. I'm sorry I said that, I just… I didn't know what to say." She wrinkled her nose again, and Carmilla couldn't help but smile.

"It's okay, buttercup." She took a bite of one of the cookies and offered some to Laura, who took one as well and started eating.

"I also wanted to thank you," Laura said after a while.

"For what?"

"For not… killing anyone here, and acting nice, and playing along… And I know you didn't do it for me, but..."

"Tsch. Stop. Seriously," Carmilla said, trying to cover Laura's mouth with her hand, which made them both laugh. Especially when Laura tried – unsuccessfully – to take it away with her own tiny hands.

"No, I'm serious, I know you hate this place, and the situation and everything, so I appreciate the effort. I'm really proud of you." Laura put her head on Carmilla's shoulder and kept eating.

"Wow. If I had known I would get cookies and sappy thank-you's I would've started acting nice-ish much sooner," Carmilla said sarcastically while smiling.

"Hey!" Laura nudged her playfully with her shoulder, and they both laughed. "It's so cold in here, holy crap," she said then, shivering.

"Come here," said Carmilla, putting her arm around Laura's shoulder. "Let's give this awful sweater some actual use." Laura giggled and put her head on Carmilla's shoulder again. They stayed like that for a while, eating cookies, until Laura finally fell asleep. Carmilla could feel her rhythmic breaths and the up-and-down of her chest, and she wondered why that made her so happy. Why the mere thought of her in danger made her stomach tight and her muscles tense. Why she could make the impossible seem possible with such ease. And why it was so hard for her to express that.

Carmilla finally got up and gently picked up Laura to take her to their bedroom. The way her hair fell over her face and the bright moonlight made her look especially beautiful. "Come on, creampuff," she whispered, trying not to wake her up. "Something tells me we have a hard day ahead of us."


End file.
